NNA - Syria's new administration said Wednesday that it is fully ready to cooperate with the United Nations if Israel withdraws from a demilitarized zone occupied by Tel Aviv in the Golan Heights.

This came during a meeting in Damascus between Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and a UN delegation headed by Under-Secretary-General for UN Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Major-General Patrick Gauchat, acting head of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

During the meeting, Syria confirmed that it is “fully prepared to cooperate with the UN, and cover its positions along the border, in accordance with the 1974 mandate, provided the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces," the Syrian state news agency SANA said.

SANA quoted the UN delegation as reiterating its “full commitment to resolving this issue and restoring stability to the border and the region."

The visit came one day after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his army forces will not withdraw from the demilitarized zone in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and will stay there “indefinitely.”--SANA

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